Ciego de Ávila () is a city in the central part of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The capital city has a population of about 156,322 and the province 430,507.

Geography

Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway and on a major railroad. Its port, Júcaro, lies south-southwest on the coast of the Gulf of Ana Maria of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, in the adjacent municipality of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The city is located about east of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

. It was part of the Camagüey Province until 1976, when

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

's government made Ciego de Ávila the capital of the newly created Ciego de Ávila Province. By 1945, the municipality was divided into the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s of Angel Castillo, Ceballos, Guanales, Jagüeyal, Jicotea, José Miguel Gómez, Júcaro, La Ceiba, Majagua, Norte, San Nicolás and Sur. After the new political and administrative division of

in 1976, it was divided into four municipalities ( Majagua, Ciego de Ávila, Baragua, and

Climate

Ciego de Ávila experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Köppen ''Aw'').

History

The city of Ciego de Ávila was founded by 1840, having at the time 263 inhabitants. In 1877, its municipal government was created and the city became independent of the city of Morón. Ciego de Ávila gained importance when the Spanish army built a fortified

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

line, known as Trocha de Júcaro a Morón, to impede the pass of insurrectionist forces to the western part of the

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

during the 1st War of Independence (1868–1878). This "trocha", which made this region famous, was thought to be strong enough to stop the Cuban forces, but was not able to stop the pass of General Máximo Gómez and several hundred men. Many of the old Spanish colonial buildings in Ciego de Ávila (such as the Teatro Principal) were commissioned under Angela Hernández, viuda de Jiménez, a rich socialite who battled to create a cultural mecca in her hometown.

Demographics

In 2022, the Municipality of Ciego de Ávila had a population of 156,322. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Attractions

*''Parque Martí'' is the largest park in the city of Ciego de Ávila. *''Teatro Principal'' is a 500-seat theatre located just a few blocks from Parque Martí. * University of Ciego de Ávila (''Universidad de Ciego de Ávila'', UNICA) is the province's secondary education institution. *''IPVCE Ignacio Agramonte'' Instituto Pre-Universitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas (10 a 12 grado) con emphasis en las ciencias basicas: Fisica, Quimica, Matematica, Biologia y Electronica. Se encuentra en la carretera a Ceballos. *''la Turbina'' is a small amusement park located to the north west of the city with approximately 6 rides.

Media

Its present radio station, ''Radio Surco'' (previously ''Radio Cuba''), was founded October 10, 1952.

Sports

Ciego de Ávila's basketball team has been one of the most successful teams in the country, as it has won 9 national championships since 2005.

Transportation

The city is served by Máximo Gómez Airport.

Notable residents

* Andy Morales (b. 1974,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Tony Pérez (b. 1942), Major League Baseball player * Rusney Castillo (b. 1987), Major League Baseball player * William Granda (b. 1985), member of Cuba's national basketball team * Adolis Garcia (b. 1993), member of

Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The tea ...

References

External links

Ciego de Ávila (fica.inf.cu)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciego de Avila Cities in Cuba Populated places in Ciego de Ávila Province Populated places established in 1840 1840 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1840s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1840s establishments in Cuba